Officials stand by sentencing, arrest procedures in case with lawyer

Monday

Dec 10, 2012 at 5:20 PM

Officials are standing by the arrest and say the sentencing procedures were fit concerning a Lexington lawyer and his wife days after the couple pleaded guilty to possessing a marijuana grow operation in their home.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

Officials are standing by the arrest and say the sentencing procedures were fit concerning a Lexington lawyer and his wife days after the couple pleaded guilty to possessing a marijuana grow operation in their home.William Fred Fritts, 55, and Susan Godwin Fritts, 58, of 106 Acacia Circle, accepted plea agreements with Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill in Davidson County Superior Court on Thursday. William Fritts, a defense attorney and former Davidson County assistant district attorney under Davidson County District Attorney Butch Zimmerman, pleaded guilty to felony possession of marijuana. Susan Fritts pleaded guilty to possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, sell and deliver of marijuana and manufacture marijuana.The husband and wife were indicted by a grand jury Dec. 3 and were arrested Wednesday. They were given $5,000 unsecured bonds.The arrests came after an investigation by the Lexington Police Department. The Lexington Police Department, with the assistance of the State Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant at Fritts' residence Oct. 16. Officers alleged they located an apparent marijuana grow operation at the residence.Multiple factors led to officers not arresting the couple immediately, said Mark Sink, major of the Lexington Police Department. Referring to why the couple was not arrested, the major explained the Frittses were not considered flight risks, officers needed to gather further evidence, and William Fritts was cooperative."There is on more than one occasion (when) we go to the district attorney's office with the evidence and let them make the decision on what the charges will be," Sink said. "At the time that night, there was a lot more investigating to do. Through all the investigation and the different statements from witnesses we talked to led to the information going to the grand jury."After finding the marijuana grow operation, Sink said, officers had to determine who was the responsible party between the husband and wife with manufacturing the marijuana. "They both had knowledge, but there was a lot more to the investigation and the story," he said. "… You are trying to file the proper charges for each person involved, and you need to gather the facts."Further evidence, Sink said, determined Susan Fritts was the key player in growing the marijuana. The major said it's common — when making arrests — for officers to determine whether residents are a flight risk and cooperative, and also consider how much more investigation is needed.O'Neill, the district attorney for Forsyth County, served as the prosecutor for the case and was brought in by Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank because the case presented a conflict of interest. O'Neill settled the case in a matter of days after the couple was indicted by the grand jury."It's pretty obvious that (O'Neill) would want to set a schedule that accommodated his schedule and didn't interfere with his duties in Forsyth," Frank said. "It's not that unusual when you've got people who are willing to surrender themselves and who are generally viewed as not a flight risk to work out a schedule for surrendering themselves. The speed at which a plea was worked out was out of the ordinary, but this was an out-of-the ordinary case."It's rare that you have individuals who want to take care of their matters that way. That was totally in the call of Mr. O'Neill, and then the judge was here and made his decision on it."O'Neill said Monday that the charges the Frittses were facing are considered low-level felonies. He said the state Legislature has determined crimes involving marijuana should receive minimal punishment.The Forsyth County District Attorney said the Legislature also has decided offenses similar to those committed by the Frittses should receive probation sentences, meaning there is "very little to quarrel" about between attorneys. O'Neill said the fact of the Frittses owning up to the crimes led to their pleas going through the system quickly. "I believe that the Frittses were remorseful and embarrassed by the charges," the Forsyth County District Attorney said. "They felt that they wanted to own up to their responsibility as soon as possible as the detectives from the Lexington Police Department testified. Mr. Fritts was extremely cooperative with law enforcement."O'Neill said he told court officials Thursday afternoon that the newspaper must be in the courtroom to report on the case. He told them he was unwilling to move on the case until a news reporter appeared in the courtroom. The Davidson County District Attorney's Office contacted The Dispatch about 4 p.m., and the hearing concerning the pleas began 30 minutes later."I was unwilling to let Mr. Fritts and Mrs. Fritts plead guilty without The Lexington Dispatch being present in the courtroom, so they could accurately report back to their readers," O'Neill said.Thursday, Det. Matt Leonard of the Lexington Police Department's Vice/Narcotics Unit testified his department conducted a search warrant at the Frittses' residence after receiving a complaint of marijuana being grown in the home. Court documents state Susan Fritts' offenses concerning the drugs occurred between Jan. 10, 2010, and Oct. 16.A cooperative William Fritts, Leonard said, told officers during the search of the residence that his wife grew marijuana upstairs. He took deputies upstairs where they located 11 marijuana plants and a grow light. The husband didn't stop there as he took officers downstairs where they found several jars of loose marijuana, quantities of money, smoking devices, scales and a jar of marijuana buds, Leonard said.William Fritts, Leonard said, asked officers to be honest about what was going to happen after the search warrant. The detective said he told the attorney nobody was being arrested that day as the LPD continued its investigation.William Fritts informed deputies that his wife grew marijuana to help her cope with having Rheumatoid arthritis, Leonard said. The detective said further investigation showed the wife was selling and smoking marijuana with juveniles. Leonard said officers seized a cell phone, which contained a picture of a large marijuana plant.David Freedman, William Fritts' attorney, said his client went for a drug test, which came back negative, the day after the search warrant was served.William Fritts, who could have received a maximum sentence of one year, seven months in jail, was placed on unsupervised probation for 12 months and ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs. Judge Alexander Mendaloff III said the attorney must report to a substance abuse agency.Susan Fritts, who could have received a maximum sentence of 11 years, 3 months in jail, received a suspended sentence of 6 months to 1 year, 5 months in jail and also was placed under unsupervised probation for three years and ordered to pay a $500 fine and court costs. Mendaloff also ordered her to report to a substance abuse agency. Susan Fritts accepted a plea agreement for the charges that consolidated them into the sell and deliver charge for sentencing. The sell and deliver charge has a maximum punishment of 3 years, 3 months in jail.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.